MOSCOW, January 9 (Sputnik) – Russian youth will hold a support rally in front of the French embassy in Moscow on Friday to express solidarity with the French people after this week's terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine, Sergey Pospelov, head of Russia's Federal Agency for Youth Affairs told RIA Novosti Friday.
"Both young journalists and representatives of youth organizations have come forward with the initiative to hold it [the rally]," Pospelov said, adding that the rally will be held at 14:00 Moscow time (11:00 GMT).
"I think every person who will show up [at the rally] has their own motives but the top one is freedom of speech and the coverage of events that are taking place in the world. And such frightful acts that threaten the freedom of speech are absolutely unacceptable," the official explained.
The Wednesday attack on the office of the French Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine by alleged Islamic extremists claimed the lives of 12 people and injured 11 others.
The UN Security Council, as well as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, has expressed deep regret over the attack and called for those responsible to be brought to justice.
According to French Interior Minsiter Bernard Cazeneuve, nine people have been detained in the course of the investigation into the attack. The main suspects are brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi, French nationals of Algerian origin, one of whom has served a prison term for extremist activities.
Charlie Hebdo had previously received several threats from radical Islamists over the publication of caricatures of Prophet Muhammad. Among the most recent posts on Charlie Hebdo's Twitter before the attack was a cartoon mocking Abu Bakr Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State militant group.
